Officials at the Kaniyamoor Sakthi Matriculation School in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district have claimed that the school had nothing to do with the death of a class 12 student which sparked violent agitations on Sunday, July 17. The school blamed the victim’s mother for the violence that engulfed the school during the protests held on Sunday, five days after the death of the class 12 student. Mobs of protesters attacked the school campus, with some ramming the school buses with tractors, and later setting buses and buildings on fire.
A video was uploaded on the school's Facebook page where Shanti, the school's secretary, could be heard blaming the dead student's mother for the riots. Shanti starts the video claiming that the school has cooperated with the police investigation so far. "We have cooperated with the police. We have also given the video footage of the day when the incident happened. The footage from the previous days and following days was also submitted to the police department".
She then raised serious allegations against the student's mother and blamed her for spreading fake stories that lead to the violent protests on July 17, Sunday "Why did she (mother) instigate such violence against us by spreading false information in social media platforms about the school while we were in the police custody? By spreading false information and instigating people, the mob burnt buses, chairs and tables. They also burnt the original certificates of the students who are studying in the school. They have spoiled the lives of around 3500 students here," Shanti alleged.
Throughout the 4 minute video, no condolences were paid to the teenager who passed away. Shanti targeted the student's mother further and said, "She spoiled the hard earned reputation of the school. The school was started in 1998 and after all the hardships we faced, many of our students went on to become engineers, doctors and government staffers. They all know how this management worked for the students."
After stating that the school had no role to play in the student's death, Shanti went on to allude that phone conversations between the mother and daughter duo would reveal the exact reason of the death. "Common people should demand that the calls between the mother and daughter be traced and looked at. Then we will know the reason for her death. Everything the mother says is not true," Shanti says. Meanwhile, the family told TNM that the mother was hospitalised as she had fallen sick. "She has been grieving for days, she was not able to bear it," Sabarinathan, the student's uncle, told TNM.
Protests broke out following the death of a class 12 student on July 12 with the family of the girl staging a sit-in blaming the school management and demanding action against them. The girl's dead body was found by the watchman at the school building and she was rushed to a nearby government hospital where she was declared dead.
However, the girl's family has been adamant that there is foul play involved in her death and that it is not a suicide.
Ramalingam, the father of the victim, has moved the Madras High Court seeking a second postmortem examination and transfer of probe to the CBCID, a special investigation wing of the state police.